§ Mr. Thompsonasked the Secretary of State for Scotland if he will list in descending order of incidence the five most serious chronic diseases in Scotland 363W and indicate for each one how much Government money has been spent on research into it during each of the past 10 years.
§ Mr. William RossChronic conditions cannot be distinguished in records from acute conditions affecting the same organs. In 1973 the most frequent causes of death from disease in Scotland were as follows:
Condition Number of Cases Percentage of all deaths Heart disease 22,425 34.74 Malignant neoplasms 12,932 20.04 Cerebro-vascular disease 10,265 15.90 Pneumonia 3,021 4.68 Bronchitis, emphysema and asthma 2,652 4.11 Biomedical research is supported by the Medical Research Council, the University Grants Committee and the Health Departments, but most of this expenditure is not explicitly related to a particular disease. I shall write to the hon. Member with such additional information as is available.